In the manufacturing field of mosaic-based floors, walls and general coverings, the modes for assembling the pieces composing a mosaic are known to be quite difficult procedures. In fact, the small size of the pieces results in the individual pieces being difficult to manipulate and handle, and the precision required to make an even tile on the one hand and on the other hand a particular pattern or geometry as desired is also difficult to be maintained. The use of an automated method is thus necessary for ensuring the quality and productivity as required.
This method consists in different working steps, in which, by means of a suitable equipment, mosaic pieces are allowed to drop on a movable plane provided with orientation means in order to determinate the proper orientation of the pieces. Subsequently, the properly oriented pieces are aligned and laid on suitable trays to be coated and fixed onto a suitable support such as to be allowed to move before being laid down. During this step of forming a mosaic covering, the pieces form a structure which is conventionally called the “tile” or “sheet”.
Particularly, the above-mentioned orientation means perform a crucial step in the whole manufacturing method, as they must ensure that the pieces are perfectly oriented in order to be properly placed on their respective trays.
Mosaic pieces, in fact, are known to have irregular parallelepiped shapes, with variously sized faces. Consequently, when they are dropped on the movable plane, they can arrange themselves in an irregular manner, some laying on a larger face, while others on a smaller face. At this stage, said orientation means are required to operate in order to arrange the pieces in an even manner.
In order to carry out said operations, the orientation means usually comprise sensors that are capable of detecting the position of the pieces and overturning means for said pieces to be overturned when the pieces are in an incorrect position.
The sensors are generally optical sensor, such as photocells or the like, while the overturning means can be embodied by a blower.
In addition, guide means are provided for channeling the pieces in a row along a pathway which ends proximate to the trays, in order to fill the latter one piece at a time.
The assembly method further comprises conventional steps for applying a suitable backing to the exposed surface of the pieces that are accommodated in the trays, such as paper sheets, films or glued glass fiber, by means of conventional equipment. At this stage, the tile or sheet made of mosaic pieces can be stocked or immediately laid down according to common laying techniques.
The method described above, though being substantially reliable, is not without drawbacks which impose limitations to the production output and to the mosaic types that can be created.
It should be noted, in fact, that the method is rather complicated mainly due to the optical control for proper orientation of the pieces and the overturning mechanism for those pieces that are incorrectly positioned.
This manufacturing complexity results in, in turn, a limitation in the industrial manufacturing time, as well as costs associated therewith.
It should also be noted that the position detecting and piece overturning systems must be however subjected to accurate and standard maintenance in order to ensure optimum effectiveness and thus allowing the product quality to be kept at a high level. Obviously, this considerably affects the manufacturing costs.
Furthermore, it has been observed that the pieces that are normally used for producing mosaics have a size that can range between cm 1×1, cm 1.5×1.5; cm 2×2; cm 2.5×2.5 and the like, but cannot be less than one centimetre. This limitation is due to the fact that the electronic sensors would not be able to read a size less than one centimetre. The impossibility of reading this size means that the pieces are likely to be laid on the respective trays in an incorrect manner, as described above.